Widow Isobel Sinclair knows it’s time to move on, and she believes the next chapter in her life involves a baby. All she needs is a man to help her with the finer details. Unfortunately, right now the only man in her life is her husband’s best friend, Rafael Sanchez. And an incredibly wealthy, super-hot player is not exactly family material.

That’s okay since she wants a baby sans the husband part.

Billionaire playboy Rafael has carefully hidden his longing for Isobel over the years. He’s wanted her from the moment they met. When desire sparks between them, Rafael faces a choice beyond imagining: give Isobel what she wants…or lose her forever. He has a good reason why a child can’t be in his future, but telling Isobel the truth could destroy everything.

From The Spaniard’s Kiss by Nina Croft:

Bella waved a hand toward the tinted glass partition separating them from the driver. “Can he hear us?” she asked.

“Not unless I press the intercom.”

“Oh.”

She was up to something, but what?

Sitting in the corner, half facing him, she crossed and uncrossed her legs. She wore heels, black strappy sandals. And her legs were bare, and there was a lot of them. She crossed them again.

Beneath that shawl thing, she wore a skirt or a dress, he couldn’t tell which. Whatever it was, it was short. He hadn’t seen her in a skirt since she’d arrived in London. She always wore jeans for him.

He shifted again on the seat and decided he needed to get his mind off the skirt. One more thing to add to his list of things he shouldn’t think about. “So how was your friend?”

“Amy? She’s good.”

They lapsed into silence again.

“It’s warm, isn’t it?” she said.

Was it? Hot, more like it.

She let out an exaggerated sigh and started to unwind the black shawl.

Fuck.

At least he hadn’t said the word out loud. She was wearing a dress. Almost wearing a dress. It covered just about nothing. She inched a little closer to him and he fought the urge to back away. There was nowhere to go.

“Actually,” she murmured, “I thought while we were together like this, we could discuss this artificial insemination idea of yours.”

Not likely. Thinking of insemination at this point, artificial or otherwise, was not a good move.

The dress was low cut, and her breasts were pushed up and out from the top in a way that was almost indecent. How come she dressed like that to visit a girlfriend? She’d never dressed like that for him. But then why should she? He was the man who’d suggested they never ever have sex.

Had she said something else? “Sorry?”

“Artificial insemination. You remember?”

“What about it?”

“Well, obviously there are some advantages, but—”

“But?” He realized he was talking to her cleavage and dragged his eyes up to her face.

“The thing is, I’m an old-fashioned girl. And I wanted this to be a fair exchange. You said you wanted me and…” She twisted further in her seat and leaned toward him, raised her hand, and rested it on his chest beneath his jacket. He could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin cotton of his shirt.

“I totally get it if you’ve changed your mind and don’t want me like that. I’m not gorgeous and sophisticated like your normal women.”

What the hell was she talking about?

“Rafe, couldn’t you just…” She gave a helpless look. “Close your eyes and pretend I’m beautiful?”

He didn’t know what to say. So he kept quiet.

“Am I really so repugnant?” She blinked. Were her eyes glistening? Had he done this to her? Made her cry?

“That’s not why… I thought you wouldn’t want… Shit, Bella.”

He dragged her into his arms and onto his lap. He meant only to comfort her. But the feel of her, the sweet scent of warm woman so close, was too much. His hands slid beneath her hair, and his mouth slanted over hers.

*ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review *

The Spaniard’s Kiss is a fast-paced and emotionally-satisfying new contemporary romance by Nina Croft that deals with the unrequited, somewhat forbidden, love between two friends who unexpectedly find themselves exploring and wondering about the possibility of being more. The hero, Rafe, has wanted Bella for years, but he’s kept his feelings hidden because of her marriage to his late best friend. Now that his friend is dead, Rafe wants Bella more than ever before, but in his mind, Bella is still off-limits because he doesn’t want to lose her.

I really enjoyed this book a lot because it didn’t take the route I expected given the story elements and the book’s summary. It was a quick, easy, well-written read and even though the story elements will be familiar to most romance readers, the setting and the characters themselves make it fresh, and keep the story interesting. I highly recommend checking this one out. It’s a terrific read, and one that might just surprise you, too.

Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.

Nina’s writing mixes romance with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.

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All review books have been provided by the publisher or author for free, via NetGalley or Edelweiss for free, or were purchased by Deanna Lynn via a brick and mortar store or through Amazon.com. We are not compensated for the reviews we post, so every review given is a fair and honest opinion about the work we read.